Netanyahu: Hizbullah Sent Downed UAV

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the drone aircraft which flew some 35 miles (55 km) last weekend into Israeli territory before being shot down by the IDF was sent by the Lebanese militia Hizbullah, an Iranian proxy force.

Hizbullah boss Hassan Nasrallah was quoted a short time later as saying that his organization had indeed launched the drone, AFP reported.

"A sophisticated reconnaissance aircraft was sent from Lebanese territory... and travelled hundreds of kilometers (miles) over the sea before crossing enemy lines and into occupied Palestine," Hassan Nasrallah said on television.

Netanyahu said Israel would "act with determination to defend its borders", just as "we thwarted over the weekend Hizbullah's attempt" to penetrate Israeli airspace. "We shall continue to act aggressively against all threats," he said.

The drone, which was allegedly under Israeli surveillance before it entered Israel, was shot down on Saturday over a forest near Judea.

The IDF released a 10-second video clip of Saturday's incident, showing a small, unidentified aircraft moments before being destroyed by a missile fired from an IAF fighter jet.